Scharf noted that while teaching healthy food skills, offering cooking groups and classes, providing after-school programs where kids can have healthy snacks and creating community gardens are all great ways to combat food insecurity, the key is in making sure more Canadians can earn a living wage.

However, that’s something that will only come about when governments mandate it, said Scharf.

“The key is to fight poverty, fight for housing, increase wages and social assistance rates,” she said. “We can push for those things at a grassroots level, but we can’t make them happen.”